Date of Award

2013

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Education

Abstract

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the impact of high school schedule type on instructional effectiveness and student achievement in mathematics. An analysis was prepared to determine the schedule types currently used in math classes, whether significant differences exist between schedule types on the percent of students meeting or exceeding on the 2011 PSAE math test, how teachers rate the effectiveness of a schedule they currently use versus how others that use a different schedule rate the same schedule for various student outcomes in mathematics, and whether significant differences exist in the effectiveness ratings between schedule types on various student outcomes in mathematics. The research design involved a population of 350 lead math teachers or math department chairs currently teaching at a 9–12 high school in Illinois. Teachers beliefs on the effectiveness of the different schedule types on various student outcomes were collected using a 23-item survey. Statistical analysis of the data included descriptive analysis for selected items, means, and standard deviations. A one-way ANOVA was used to test whether significant differences existed between schedule types on the percentage of students meeting or exceeding standards on the 2011 PSAE math test, and a comparison of the mean ratings for each schedule type was used to determine how teachers rated the effectiveness of a schedule type they currently use versus how others who use a different schedule type rated the same schedule. Repeated measures one-way ANOVAs were used to determine whether significant differences existed in the effectiveness ratings between schedule types on various student outcomes in mathematics. Significance was identified at the .05 level. In all, 91 lead math teachers or math department chairs of high schools in Illinois responded to the survey instrument, which questioned the perceived level of effectiveness of the traditional schedule, AB block schedule, 4 x 4 block schedule, and trimester schedule for 11 different student outcomes in mathematics. As a result of the analysis, there were no significant differences found in the percent of students meeting or exceeding standards on the 2011 PSAE between schools on a block schedule versus those on a traditional schedule. The analysis showed that teachers currently on a traditional schedule rated the traditional schedule higher than those currently teaching on a block schedule. Teachers currently teaching on a block schedule rated the block schedule more favorably than teachers currently teaching on a traditional schedule. However, teachers currently teaching on a block schedule rated the traditional schedule as the most effective overall for most of the student outcomes. When analyzing the responses of all of the respondents, the traditional schedule was perceived to be more effective than all other schedule types for eight of the 11 student outcomes while the AB block schedule was rated most effective for only one outcome.

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